Spine stretch Increases flexibility and circulation in entire spine; improves eyesight Sit on the front half of your chair. Place your left hand on the outside of your right knee and hook your right arm over the back of the chair, or inside, as shown. Breathe in, looking forward, then breathe out as your twist to the right. Turn your head and eyes as far right as they will go and stare at a spot just above eye level. Pull slightly on your right knee with your left hand for more leverage. Relax your breath and hold the position, breathing normally, for several seconds. Release and repeat on the opposite side. Repetition: 1 on each side Seated knee squeeze Limbers and relaxes lower back, improves digestion; improves respiration Breathe out completely. Breathe in and lift your right leg with both hands and pull it to your chest while holding your breath in. Tuck your head toward your knee and let your raised foot relax. Hold for a few seconds, then release and switch sides. Repetitions: 3 on each side Sun pose in chair Improves circulation to head; massages internal organs; limbers spine and hip joints Separate your legs and sit with your hips against the back of the chair. Breathe out completely. Breathe in and raise your arms in a circle to the sides and overhead. Look up and stretch. Breathe out, tuck your head, and bend forward between your legs. If you can reach the floor, place your palms fl at. Breathe in and raise your arms up over your head again, then breathe out and lower your arms to the sides. Repetitions: 3 Seated side stretch Limbers spinal column, improves respiration, reduces waistline Sitting with feet slightly apart, breathe in and raise your arms out to the sides. Breathe out and bend toward the left, keeping your arms straight and trying to reach the floor with your left hand. Breathe in, come back to the starting position, then breathe out and bend toward the right. Repetitions: 3 on each side Ankle rotations and point flexes Improves circulation to feet Hold on to the seat of your chair, stretch your legs out in front of you, and rotate your ankles several times in each direction. Then point and flex the feet several times. Repetitions: 5-6 circles in each direction, 5-6 point-flexes Seated leg lifts Strengthens legs, hips, and lower back; improves circulation to legs and feet Hold on to the seat of your chair

Long hours hunched over notebooks, reading often illegible handwriting in poorly lit and sometimes poorly ventilated staffrooms, arm raised for minutes at a time writing on the blackboard, shoulders slumped with the weight of two score and more books…and we have not even started on the psychological stresses of school work! Contrary to popular opinion, a teacher’s workday is not exactly a cakewalk, as readers of Teacher Plus are well aware. There are slow, steady physical stresses that can eat away at a person’s physical well-being, and by the time the forties hit, many of us are feeling the consequences of bad posture, chalk dust allergies, strained eyes, etc. Every job has its own set of physical demands, and teaching is no different. Even within the teaching profession, there are a multitude of contexts and each school, in fact every classroom, might offer its own unique set of demands! A nursery school teacher might have to pick up and carry children more often, while a high school teacher might have to spend more time hunched over complex projects. A middle school teacher might spend a large part of her day straining her arm writing equations on the board, while a special education teacher may end up organising and reorganising classroom materials. How then does one stay fit and fresh through all this? We may not be able to do much about the stresses that come from the specific nature of the job – difficult or disruptive students, staffroom and school politics, parent expectations and work load – but we can to some extent take care of our bodies and keep ourselves in shape so we are better able to deal with our physical environments and the demands they place on us. While a general fitness regime is a good idea no matter what kind of work one does, it may be useful to think about the specific ways in which you need to exert yourself, and compensate for that through exercise or relaxation techniques that address those specific c parts of the body. Those who sit for long hours at the computer are advised to take a regular fl ex-ex break every two hours or so, to relieve the stresses that build up in the shoulders, upper arms, back and wrists. Gardeners and others who hunch or squat need to stretch periodically to release the cramps that may occur in their upper thighs, shoulders and abdomen. Teachers too can pay attention to those parts of